GM's first generation fuel cell system has been extensively tested by a fleet of 100 retrofitted Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicles. (Source: Car and Driver)

GM's second generation fuel cells are 220 lb lighter, use half the precious metals, and take up half the space of the previous generation system. (Source: AutoBlog Green)

Despite a strong push for electric, GM isn't skimping on hydrogen, another popular "green" vehicle technology

Hydrogen is an attractive alternative
fuel for the auto industry in some respects. The technology to
produce it with electricity already exists, and it would provide an
ideal way to store energy from alternative energy sources such as
clean nuclear fission, wind, solar, and (eventually) nuclear fusion.

However, many obstacles remain to its
commercial deployment. One challenge is developing a
production, delivery, and fueling station network capable of
sustaining commercial numbers of hydrogen vehicles. Thanks
largely to Toyota
and Honda, the roots of such a network have been planted in America's
largest urban centers: Los Angeles, California and New York, New
York.

Now one of the American automakers is preparing
to step up its efforts to solve the other key challenge -- designing
vehicles capable of using hydrogen efficiently. GM has
announced plans to bring vehicles powered by the universe's most
abundant gas to the market in only six years. GM is targeting
the 2016 model year for
a commercial deployment of its fifth generation fuel cell
system. By the time the fifth generation lands, GM believes the
system's size, cost, reliability, and capabilities will be ready for
viable mass produced vehicles.

Currently, GM is wrapping up
testing its second generation fuel cells. These cells feature
impressive advances over GM's first generation cells. In total,
GM's second generation fuel cell system is 220 pounds lighter than
the previous generation, half the size, and uses half the precious
metals, while delivering comparable power.

States Charles
Freese, executive director of GM Fuel Cell Activities, "The
improvements the team has been able to achieve are remarkable.
Hardware mechanization has been dramatically simplified, which will
help reduce cost, simplify manufacturing and improve durability."

GM
says that it has spent $1.5B USD of its own money on fuel cell
vehicles, but it warns it won't be able to deploy the vehicle's
commercially without government and industry-wide support. Mr.
Freese adds, "GM has invested more than $1.5 billion in fuel
cell technology and we are committed to continuing to invest, but we
no longer can go it alone. As we approach a costly part of the
program, we will require government and industry partnerships to
install a hydrogen infrastructure and help create a customer pull for
the products."

To drum up interest in fuel cell vehicles,
GM has deployed 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric Chevrolet
Equinox midsize crossovers powered by its first generation cells.
The vehicles have been driven over 1 million miles by ordinary
citizens and celebrities, since 2007. Two DailyTech
staffers drove
one of these vehicles at the Consumer Electronics Show in early
2008, and came away with favorable impressions.

GM and its
competitors Toyota and Honda are hoping that fuel distributors and
the U.S. government support a greater U.S. deployment over the next
several years. The German government just announced plans to
build 1,000 hydrogen fueling stations by 2015. In Japan, 13 oil
and gas companies have announced similar plans. That leaves the
U.S., which only has 73 existing
and 44 planned stations, far behind these foreign competitors
[Source].
GM has high hopes, though, that the U.S. deployment will pick up and
it will catch up before 2015.

GM is also aggressively pursuing
commercial electric vehicle deployment – next year it will deliver
the 2011
Chevy Volt EV.

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In theory, we could easily have the infrastructure to support a hydrogen economy. The US still needs to increase its own electrical output, but with nuclear fusion possibly coming online within the next 20 years, that might change. But what we don't have is an unlimited supply of water.

It was like the whole corn fuel craze. Everyone got real excited about ethanol/methanol, but it doesn't make sense to begin tampering with your food supply. Fresh water is already in critical shortage, and we want to start using it as fuel in our cars? Doesn't sound like a very bright idea to me as much as I like hydrogen.

Batteries certainly have their drawbacks too, but like I said above, with nuclear fusion and/or cleaner nuclear fission coming online within the next decade or two, at least we won't be running out of the means to recharge those batteries anytime soon.

Your concern about fresh water shortage is quite unfounded. The exhaust from a hydrogen reaction is fresh, distilled water. You could include a tank on the car that stores the exhaust water and then drain it and drink it.

Also, if you are fueling from a station, the station could be selling hydrogen that was made from sea water, or at least reclaimed water. This would actually help eliminate the fresh water shortage.

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